He Hates Mother's Day
by Bullet in the Feels
Summary: Here's another entry to the He Hates series! This time, however, I took a different approach. It's not Will this time that shows Nico Mother's Day isn't so bad, but an unlikely other party.


**A/N: So we aren't even really around Mother's Day, but I get so impatient when I actually finish something. I just want it published for all you wonderful people to read! So, here it is! I hope you enjoy! :D**

Nico woke up with a bad feeling and an equally bad attitude. He had been dreading this day since May started, and now that it was here, he was feeling even worse. Ever since Percy started spouting out about how he was going to be doing a lot of things with Annabeth and his mother for Mother's Day, Nico started little by little, dreading the day to arrive. It wasn't that he hated his mother. It was hard to hate someone you don't really remember. No, rather, it was the fact that it reminded him so much of what he could have had.

Will wasn't much help either. Nico didn't really blame him, but he wished Will was a little more observant sometimes. Will was going to be with his mother for the whole week, leaving Nico alone at Camp Half-Blood. So it was practically decided that if he was going to be alone, he was heading to his father's domain. He didn't know what he was going to do there yet, but he wasn't about to be surrounded by people he didn't really know.

Not even an hour after Will left to visit his mom, Nico went to his room in the Underworld. He had been there for just over a day now, and so far, he hadn't seen his father. He shouldn't have been surprised. Keeping charge of the Underworld wasn't an easy task. It wasn't like Hades could just chill on his throne all day, bored out of his mind. He had a job to do; it didn't matter what day of the year it was. Speaking of bored out of one's mind, Nico was practically dying of boredom. His father wasn't around, which meant Nico didn't have any jobs given to him to do yet. Gods forbid he do something to help Hades and end up angering him for doing it wrong. He was still left to his own devices.

Finally having enough of staring at the ceiling, Nico stood, making way to the door. At least he couldn't mess up anything by going on a walk. Maybe visiting Cerberus. So long as it wasn't doing nothing in his room.

On his stroll, Nico was hit full force with an out of place smell. The Underworld smelt, for lack of a better word, death. This is why the sudden scent of life had Nico coming to a dead stop. Following his nose like a dog, Nico kept walking, turning around a few times when he made the wrong choice. It made sense to him, once he found the source of the smell, and he was a little disappointed in himself that he didn't think of it earlier.

Persephone was in the center of her garden, caring for her plants the hard way. That is to say, as a human would have to do. She had noticed someone walking in, but she ignored them. This was far more important than whatever they had to say to her.

"I had no idea plants could actually survive here."

It was the voice that got Persephone to look up. Nico and her had never gotten along in the past. She was convinced once upon a time that the boy didn't even try to be civil with her, but now, well, she wasn't liking this subdued replacement. It didn't take an expert on the teen to know that something was up, after all.

"They aren't meant to survive," Persephone says slowly, sweeping hair behind her ear, studying Nico carefully. "But I'm not one to follow the rules of this land anyway. I can do something about it, so I will."

Nico didn't say anything in response. He just stood at the entrance to the center of the garden, looking everywhere but at Persephone. This was not lost on the goddess.

"I didn't know you would be visiting."

"It was a spur of the moment decision."

Persephone frowned. Humans are creatures of habit. Being a demigod didn't change that aspect, and Nico didn't make it a habit to just do things without thinking them through first. Spur of the moment decisions didn't fall into habits Nico had. She didn't say anything to call him out on it, however. For the sake of Hades, Persephone decided she wouldn't be the instigator. "I see." Persephone turned back to her flowers. "I don't know where Hades is."

"I wasn't looking for him," Nico murmured.

"Well, you weren't looking for me either." Persephone didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, but she knew it was true. Nico had never actively searched for her, let alone made any move to spend anymore time with her than he already had to by command of Hades.

"You're better than being alone," Nico said quietly, his hands fiddling with each other.

His words froze Persephone in place. Nico always wanted to be alone. She didn't care much for the life of the teen, but even she knew this was out of character for him. Perhaps something was wrong. Was he sick? Shouldn't he be with a human doctor instead of in the Underworld?

"You seem busy though. I can leave. I don't want to ruin your garden."

Persephone was one thought away from threatening to turn him into part of her garden if he dared to do anything to hurt it, but she curbed her tongue before the words got out. Instead, she took a gentle approach. She didn't know Nico all that well, and while she knew what would anger the teen, she didn't know what could upset him in worse ways than anger.

"I don't mind your company," she ended up saying instead of any threats. "Would you like to learn how to care for them?"

Persephone couldn't say she was surprised by the hesitation in Nico's posture, or the guarding in his eyes. She could practically see the gears turning in his head as Nico debated with himself on her proposition.

"Is that really okay?" he asked.

"Just follow my direction, and we'll be fine."

For the time being, Nico put aside the circumstances that usually surround seeing Persephone. He reached her, but made no move to touch her or her garden.

He's been holding in the sorrow from everything that has happened, and the anxiety from what could happen in the future for so long that he was more or less numb to everything. Will, of course, took it all in stride. Sometimes, Nico thought Will stuck around in order to fix him, like he was a charity case. Some things can't be fixed; some people can't change. Will always did his best to understand Nico's thoughts and circumstances, but Nico wasn't about to keep Will from seeing his mother on Mother's Day of all days. He didn't understand the importance of it, but it was important to Will, and Nico didn't want to ruin it for him. They would always have their differences that they would fight through, and a parental figure constant in their lives will always be one of them. Nico didn't like to complain. He wasn't the only child without a good and constant role model in his life, and he knew that, but he still wished he had someone like that in his life.

Persephone reached out, grabbing hold of Nico's cold hands with her warm grasp. She guided him through the necessities for the plants, telling him all the right and wrong ways to prune, plant, and water the flora. He absorbed all the information given to him, even going as far as to ask questions when things weren't clear.

After a solid hour of garden work, Persephone decided to call it good for a while. There were more pressing things to deal with, after all. Starting with why Nico was in the Underworld at all. Persephone didn't always like the demigod, but even she wasn't heartless enough to ignore him when he clearly needed someone. And since no one else was there, that someone had to be her.

Nico spoke before she could though, catching her off guard. "Why are you being so nice to me now?"

It hurt Persephone a bit that Nico could ask that. It's true that in the past they refused to put aside their differences, and never got along. But different situations call for different tact, something Persephone was about to learn if she had.

"You're hurting," Persephone answered. "I don't make it a habit to attack someone that is already down. That's cruel."

"You could have just ignored me," Nico said. "I wouldn't have been offended. That's how things are."

Persephone's gaze softened significantly. "Nico," she practically whispered.

Nico's head shot up to look at her. He couldn't remember the last time Persephone ever called him by his name, let alone refer to him so softly; speak to him almost fondly.

"It's okay to be hurting. You don't have to be okay all the time. You're allowed to break down sometimes."

Nico didn't openly respond. He kept quiet, searching for lies in Persephone's eyes.

It was one thing for Nico and Persephone to fight verbally with each other, or for Persephone to use her abilities to do things to Nico. It was another thing for them to touch each other. This is why, when Persephone reached out and pulled Nico to her, he flinched, and nearly pulled himself away from her grasp. Persephone held him tightly.

"Sh," Persephone hushed Nico when he tried to say something against the show of affection. "It's okay. I'm here for you."

"Why?" Nico asked breathlessly, clearly doing his best to keep his emotions and tears in check.

"You've been through a lot," Persephone says instead of answering Nico's question. "You've been through things no child should ever have to go through. You don't have to pretend to be okay, Nico."

Persephone holds her tongue for a few moments longer to gauge Nico's reaction to her words. At first, Persephone thought he didn't hear her, or was ignoring her, but then she felt it. Not wetness of tears on her chest or shoulder, but the trembling. Nico was quaking in her arms. Instinctively, Persephone tightens her hold on Nico. One hand holds him close to her, while the other cards through Nico's hair.

She kisses the top of his head. "I'm so proud of you," she whispers to him. Those are the words that send Nico over the deep end. Seconds after the words are spoken, tears began to escape him. Persephone guides Nico to the lone bench in the garden, helping him sit down. Nico grasped Persephone's dress tightly in his palms, letting it all out. Persephone waited patiently for Nico to calm down some. She just held him close, dragging a hand up and down his back in a calming manner.

Once Nico calmed down a little, he pulled away slightly from Persephone.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nico wiped at his eyes. He didn't want to tell Persephone about his problems, but at the same time, he knew he should talk about it. Will wasn't around to talk to as he was with his mother. Hazel wasn't a question either. Hazel had her own problems to take care of. Nico didn't want to add his on top of that. Jason also has his own mother issues. It just seemed like the only people still around that he could talk to, shouldn't have to deal with his problems.

"I just..." Nico began, but trailed off.

"Does it have something to do with our relationship?"

"It's everything," Nico says in reply. "Just... I know I'm not good with people and situations, and I'm not _stable_, but I'm trying, but I know it's not enough. I just want to be enough," Nico confesses. He's still crying, but it's nothing like before.

"Why would you think you're not enough?" Persephone has to ask. From what she's seen and heard, Nico was doing a lot better now. He had friends, his sister, a _boyfriend_. How could he not be enough when he's got someone who cares for him so much, that he sticks around despite everything Nico claims is wrong with him.

"I ruin everything," Nico responded. "Celebrations, meals, games," he listed a few things before breaking off into a mild coughing fit from talking while crying. Breathing was a struggle.

"And why do you think this is?"

"I don't fit in like everyone else. I don't understand, I don't, I don't, I..." Nico trailed off again, knowing what he wants to convey, but not knowing how to go about actually saying it.

Persephone took in Nico again. What he was saying, his posture, where he was looking. It seemed gently taking hold of the conversation wasn't going to work. A little bit of tough love. Just a little.

She forces Nico back an arm's length. He refuses to make eye contact. "Nico," Persephone starts, grabbing his chin, making him look at her. "You know, I refuse to believe that the person I'm talking to right now is the Ghost King. There's no way someone so pathetic could be the infamous Ghost King."

Nico shrank back a little bit.

"I don't think anyone would ever dare even _think _the Ghost King is insecure about anything pertaining to himself. How could someone so powerful, so fear inducing be unsure of himself?"

"They don't _know_," Nico explained weakly. "I'm not..."

"Exactly," Persephone cut in before Nico could continue. "They _don't _know. But you know who _does_?"

Nico looked Persephone in the eye. She could see in his eyes that he already knew the answer, but he didn't seem to want to answer.

"Do you know who knows what you're like inside and out? Someone who cares in spite of knowing?"

"Will," Nico whispers, barely audible.

"He sure does," Persephone agrees. "Don't you think you should talk to him about it?"

Nico shook his head. "He's gone. Visiting his mom for Mother's Day. I'm just jealous that he can remember his mom, let alone still be able to see her."

"Well, you're visiting your mother too, right?" Persephone surprises even herself with her words. She had never expressed before, ever wanting to be referred to as Nico's mother, even if by human standards, it's a mere step-mother. However, the cocky boy she thought she knew wasn't who was sitting before her now. This is the part of Nico he never wanted people to see. All the sorrows he's been holding onto, all the pain, the parts of him that make him vulnerable are laid out in front of her. Persephone is the only one who has seen Nico this disturbed. He's shown how vulnerable he can be in the past to the likes of his friends, but never to the extent of which Persephone gets to see now.

"I-" Nico's eyes widened. It wasn't just the fact that he had never heard her refer to herself as his mother before, but he hadn't even considered it in the past. Logically, it made sense. She's married to his father, which would make her his stepmother, but he never thought about it that way until now. "But I thought..."

"I know we've had our differences in the past, and we won't always get along after this either, but that doesn't change the fact that you are still a child, and that you need the love and comfort of a mother you've not had before. Now you may not like me, but I won't put you down for having emotions. And for as much as I've put you down for being human in the past, I won't hold it against you. Not when you need something that isn't insults. You're allowed to hurt, Nico."

For a moment after she said that, Persephone thought Nico was going to break down again. Instead of more tears, Nico practically launched at her, latching onto Persephone. "I forgot what it was like," he murmured so quietly Persephone almost didn't hear him.

She had an idea as to what he was talking about, but she wanted confirmation anyway. "Forgot what what was like?"

"What having a mother felt like."

Persephone was taken aback. She had begun to see Nico as her own, if only just slightly, but she hadn't thought he would ever see her as a mother. She hugged him again before they both broke apart. "Believe me when I tell you this, Nico. You are enough. You will _always _be enough. And if anyone _ever _tells you otherwise, you let me know. You don't do anything to them because they are _mine_."

Nico sniffled, but it was a tail-end of the crying sort of sniffle. He gave a soft chuckle too. "I don't remember my mom all that much, but I hope she was as good with comforting us as you are with just me."

"I'm glad you think that," Persephone said, finally standing again. "Now, what do you say we get some comfort food in you, and call it a night?"

"I'm not hungry," Nico rejects the idea. "I just want to call it a night..." he trailed off, looking between Persephone and his hands. "...But I... I don't want to be alone. Can we just stay here a while longer?"

"Of course." Persephone resigned herself to sitting back down. She didn't mind. For all the fights the two had in the past, this Nico, she found herself feeling protective over. Admitting weakness was never easy. Talking about problems is the hardest thing to do, and to tell someone he didn't particularly trust couldn't have been any easier. She would deny everything later, but when Nico's head started drooping, Persephone guided him to lay down, using her thigh as a pillow of sorts. She lulled him further into sleep with a hand carding through his hair.

This was how Hades found them later on in the day. He had planned to meet with his wife after he finished the necessary work, but was confused when she wasn't waiting for him when he arrived at their designated rendezvous point. He wandered around in search for her, when he dumbly remembered her talking about given care to her entire garden. Assuming she was still there, having gotten lost in the plants, he made his way there. What Hades didn't expect to see was Persephone and Nico. Together. Not fighting.

Nico was asleep by the time Hades found them, and Persephone had no intention of letting her husband wake her child. She glared at Hades, daring him to disturb the peace Nico finally found. Knowing better than to go against that perfected death glare from Persephone, Hades said nothing. Instead of leaving them be, however, Hades approached the two, taking a seat at Nico's feet. Hades had never expected his wife or his son to get along. He yearned for them to do anything but fight with each other, so seeing them like this was more than he could have ever dreamed.


End file.
